The Confederate Magazine at Fort Wade Grand Gulf

Archaeological Report No. 8 THE CONFEDERATE MAGAZINE AT FORT WADE GRAND GULF, MISSISSIPPI EXCAVATIONS, 1980-1981 William C. Wright Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Grand Gulf State Military Monument 1982 DIRECTOR William C. Wright Historical Archaeologist Mississippi Department of Archives and History CREW Miller L. Brock (1981) University of Mississippi David A. Dean (1980) Mississippi College Marc C. Hammack (1980-1981) University of Southern Mississippi James C. Martin (1980) Mississippi College Thomas McGahey (1980) University of Southern Mississippi James R. "Binky" Purvis (1980-1981) M.A. Delta State University John C. Slater (1981) Mississippi State University VOLUNTEERS Phillip Cox (1980-1981), Site Administrator Grand Gulf Military Monument Terry Hunter (1980) Student Huey H. Purvis (1980), Archivist Mississippi Department of Archives and History Lisa Wright (1980) Student Maxine Wright (1980) Secretary ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Personnel.......•......•...............................•••.•.....•.ii Acknowledgements ..................................•.........•....•.iv Fort Wade Excavations ...........................•........•......•... 1 Introduction 1 Goals for the Excavations 2 Historical Background .•.••.•..............•...•..•.•...........3 The Magazine.•............••.•.•..............••..•.••.•.•.••• 27 Previous Archaeological Work •••••.•......•••.•••..••.•••.•••.. 34 Procedures and Methods .••...•••...•...••••....•••...••..•.•••• 36 Cone1usion•........•..•......••..•..•.•.....•••..••.•..••.••••40 References •....•.....••...••..•.........•.......•.••.•.•••....•.•••48 Appendix: List of Finds from Fort Wade 51 iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Probable Armament of Fort Wade....•.............................. 9 Reconstruction of Magazine Explosion....•......•........•...•...20 Reconstruction of Magazine...•.•.......•.•.••.•....•..•.•..••... 28 Magazine Door ••...••..•...••.......•....•.•..........•.•....••.. 30 Magazine Floor, South Wall, West Wall, in situ•.•...........•... 30 Federal Powder Container from Magazine•.•.•...•.•.••••..••...•.. 33 Contour Map of Fort Wade...••.......•.............•.•...•••..•..35 Plan of Excavated Magazine.•..•.....•...•.•••••..•..•...•.......37 Section through Square W-11••..•.•..•.•.•..•..••.•.•..••...•..•. 39 Confederate 20-Pound Read ShelL ..•..•.•...•.•.•........•.••....41 Confederate 6.4 Tennessee Sabot Shell •....•••......•.•..••.....•43 Confederate Percussion Fuse.••.•••..•.•....••..•.••......•......44 Confederate Fuse Plug........••...•...•.•.••............••.••..•46 iv ACKNo\-lLEDGEHENTS An archaeological report is not complete without crediting those who made it possible, and such is the case with this report of the excavations performed on the Confederate Magazine of Fort Wade. The first to thank must be the Grand Gulf Military Park Commission: Mr. Edwin H. Davis, Chairman, Mr. Virgil B. Wheeless, Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. Hamilton D. Allen, Mrs. Sarah B. Crisler, and Hr. William D. Lum, One could not ask for more support and more encouragement than this group contributed to the excavation. The crew's special thanks go to Hr. Philip Cox, Site Administrator. Phillip did everything from locating much needed equipment to actual labor as a volunteer. A word of appreciation also goes to Phillip's wife, Joy, who manages the museum at Grand Gulf. Joy always had a pleasant smile despite the dirty boots and bodies threading through her domain. For allowing the proj ect to take place we thank Mr. Elbert R. Hilliard, Director, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and Mr. Robert J. Bailey, Director, Division of Historic Preservation. Fron the National Park Service we wish to thank Mr. Dan Lee, Superintendent, and Mr. Bowie Lanford, Chief Park Interpreter, and others on the staff of the Vicksburg National Military Park, for allowing the use of the park's facilities to write this report. In addition to all the above I wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication given by the best team working crew I have ever had the pleasure to work with, and for this I sincerely thank them. William C. Wright Historical Archaeologist v FORT WADE EXCAVATIONS, GRAllD GULF STATE MILITARY MONUMENT INTRODUCTION The excavations at Fort Wade- during the summer season of 1980 were the result of an unsuccessful expedition to locate and record the sites of certain structures at the near extinct town of Rodney, Mississippi. Due to a total lack of local interest, and even open hostility, the endeavor to work at Rodney was cancelled. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History found itself with a crew and no archaeological project. In 1978, the University of Southern Mississippi had conducted a limited archaeological investigation at Fort Wade, Grand Gulf State Hilitary Honument. Unfortunately, the Commission which governs Grand Gulf was unhappy with the results of this work, and had little to show for a tremendous sum of money expended on the work. When the Commission was approached with an offer to continue the excavations with no cost to them they readily accepted the offer. At the end of the 1980 summer season the excavations, centered around the remains of the Confederate Magazine within Fort Wade, were approximately sixty percent completed even though approximately 4,153 cubic feet of overburden had been removed by hand. It would be another season before the entire magazine would be unearthed. The Grand Gulf Commission and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History were in agreement that the work should be continued, but the economy did not allow either agency to fund the project entirely. The Grand Gulf Commission agreed to contract with a crew of four and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History would contribute the services of a historical archaeologist and his expenses, to serve as supervisor and coordinator of the project. All vehicle expenses, as well as work area, were furnished by Grand Gulf. The 1981 summer season was as successful as the previous season. Work at the Magazine was completed, and the entire structural remains were left open for public viewing. 1 GOALS FOR THE EXCAVATIONS The original goals for excavating Fort Wade were multi-purpose, and perhaps ego oriented. When the fortifications were mapped by Federal engineers, following Grand Gulf's evacuation by the Confederates, one of the several maps showed a hotshot furnace within Fort Wade, but no magazine. This author has never believed there was ever a hotshot furnace at Fort Wade, although there was one at Fort Cobun, a companion fort to the north of Fort \oJade. Therefore the primary goal was, once and for all, to prove or disprove the hotshot furnace theory. Certain other goals developed once excavation had established the fact that visible metal debris was the remains of a jail cell converted into a magazine and not that of a hotshot furnace. These basically were: what type of ammunition was in the magazine, and how did the Confederates detonate the magazine when it was purposely destroyed? Another goal was hopefully to determine how the magazine was constructed in relation to the earthwork. Goals for 1981 were simply a continuation of those established the previous season: to continue excavating the remaining forty percent of the magazine, to continue the study of artifactual and structural evidence, and to prepare the site for public viewing. In all, the two seasons of excavation at Fort Wade were a total success. Because of its relative depth most of the structure and artifacts were in situ, and the blast displaced so much earth that the powder trail used to detonate the magazine was left as a perfect feature, covered by falling earth. 2 TliE EILITARY STRUGGLE FOR FORT WADE, GRAND GULF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SITE The first Europeans to take notice of the Grand Gulf area were the French. In 1682, the expedition of Ren~ Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and his lieutenant, Henri de Tonty, passed Grand Gulf on their voyage down the Mississippi River to discover water passages into Spanish territory, or a possible route to the Pacific.l Maps subsequent to this voyage note the site as "Orand Gouffre" to signify a large whirlpool. This whirlpool or large eddy was formed by the Big Black River entering the Mississippi River almost head on against the latter's current flowing eastward from Coffee's Point. On the south side of the confluence is a very large rock outcrop termed "Point of Rock" which added velocity to the whirlpool. Throughout the territorial and early statehood years Grand Gulf flourished as a cotton shipping port on the Mississippi River. Its location between the Big Black on the north and Bayou Pierre on the south was ideal for transportation of goods from the interior. During the 1830s a railroad was constructed between Port Gibson, some seven miles to the southeast, and Grand Gulf. At this time Grand Gulf was handling more cotton than Vicksburg or Natchez. Despite these years of enterprise Grand Gulf, as a viable town, was to die a quick death. Grand Gulf survived plagues and floods, but a tornado struck in 1853, and apparently the town never recovered before being totally destroyed by war nine years later.2 Following the fall and occupation of New Orleans on April 24, 1862, the Federal fleet of Flag Officer David G. Farragut proceeded up the Mississippi River with impunity toward their objective .•. Vicksburg. Baton Rouge fell on May 8, and Natchez surrendered four days later. This ,'lack of resistance south of Vicksburg gave the Federal conmander a false impression

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